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| 1 And Samuel taketh the vial of the oil, and poureth on his head, and kisseth him, and saith, 'Is it not because Jehovah hath appointed thee over His inheritance for leader |
A vial of oil – Typifying the anointing of the holy Spirit. R4197:6, R5636:2
To be captain – Representing Jesus as the head of the Church. R3218:5
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| 2 In thy going to-day from me then thou hast found two men by the grave of Rachel, in the border of Benjamin, at Zelzah, and they have said unto thee, The asses have been found which thou hast gone to seek; and lo, thy father hath left the matter of the asses, and hath sorrowed for you, saying, What do I do for my son |
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| 3 'And thou hast passed on thence, and beyond, and hast come in unto the oak of Tabor, and found thee there have three men going up unto God to Beth-El, one bearing three kids, and one bearing three cakes of bread, and one bearing a bottle of wine, |
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| 4 and they have asked of thee of welfare, and given to thee two loaves, and thou hast received from their hand. |
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| 5 'Afterwards thou dost come unto the hill of God, where the garrison of the Philistines [is], and it cometh to pass, at thy coming in thither to the city, that thou hast met a band of prophets coming down from the high place, and before them psaltery, and tabret, and pipe, and harp, and they are prophesying; |
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| 6 and prospered over thee hath the Spirit of Jehovah, and thou hast prophesied with them, and hast been turned to another man; |
Spirit of the LORD – Controlling his words and actions rather than enlightening his mind in respect to the deep things of God. R4197:5
Another man – Similarly, those who believe God's message and accept the anointing of the holy Spirit also find new aims, new impulses, new hopes, new desires. R4197:6
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| 7 and it hath been, when these signs come to thee do for thyself as thy hand findeth, for God [is] with thee. |
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| 8 'And thou hast gone down before me to Gilgal, and lo, I am going down unto thee, to cause to ascend burnt-offerings, to sacrifice sacrifices of peace-offerings; seven days thou dost wait till my coming in unto thee, and I have made known to thee that which thou dost do.' |
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| 9 And it hath been, at his turning his shoulder to go from Samuel, that God turneth to him another heart, and all these signs come on that day, |
Another heart – Fixed his mind upon the more sober things of life and God's relationship to these. R4197:5
In the sense that he no longer had the "disposition" to be a farmer, but a divine "disposition" to be a statesman. It did not signify that he had become a New Creature in Christ. R5637:4
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| 10 and they come in thither to the height, and lo, a band of prophets to meet him, and prosper over him doth the Spirit of God, and he prophesieth in their midst. |
Spirit of God – An invisible power from God. R5637:3
The Bible makes a clean-cut distinction between the holy Spirit's operations upon men before Pentecost and since. R5637:3
God's holy Spirit qualifying Saul for king was a mechanical one and not the spirit of sonship. R5637:4
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| 11 And it cometh to pass, all his acquaintance heretofore, see, and lo, with prophets he hath prophesied, and the people say one unto another, 'What [is] this hath happened to the son of Kish is Saul also among the prophets ' |
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| 12 And a man thence answereth and saith, 'And who [is] their father ' therefore it hath been for a simile, 'Is Saul also among the prophets ' |
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| 13 And he ceaseth from prophesying, and cometh in to the high place, |
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| 14 and the uncle of Saul saith unto him, and unto his young man, 'Whither went ye ' and he saith, 'To seek the asses; and we see that they are not, and we come in unto Samuel.' |
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| 15 And the uncle of Saul saith, 'Declare, I pray thee, to me, what Samuel said to you ' |
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| 16 And Saul saith unto his uncle, 'He certainly declared to us that the asses were found;' and of the matter of the kingdom he hath not declared to him that which Samuel said. |
He told him not – It was in harmony with the prophet's advice that Saul kept the matter of his anointing secret. R4197:1, R3218:2
So now, the people know not the Lord's Anointed, the matter is kept secret for a time. R3218:5
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| 17 And Samuel calleth the people unto Jehovah to Mizpeh, |
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| 18 and saith unto the sons of Israel, 'Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, I have brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I deliver you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all the kingdoms who are oppressing you; |
Delivered you – Samuel impressed upon the people the fact that no king could have done them better service than their great King, Jehovah. R3218:2
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| 19 and ye to-day have rejected your God, who [is] Himself your saviour out of all your evils and your distresses, and ye say, 'Nay, but a king thou dost set over us; and now, station yourselves before Jehovah, by your tribes, and by your thousands.' |
Your adversities – Calamities or evils sent as chastisements. A125
Before the LORD – Israel's solicitude to have the Lord make the choice is in contrast with present-day wire-pulling for office. R3218:1
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| 20 And Samuel bringeth near the whole tribes of Israel, and the tribe of Benjamin is captured, |
Benjamin was taken – Similarly today, the Lord is passing by the prominent people and choosing the little and the humble. R3218:5
Samuel cast lots so the people might know it was the Lord's choice. R3218:2, R5637:6
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| 21 and he bringeth near the tribe of Benjamin by its families, and the family of Matri is captured, and Saul son of Kish is captured, and they seek him, and he hath not been found. |
And Saul – Meaning "Desired"; typifying, in this case, Christ. "The desire of all nations shall come." (Hag. 2:7) R3218:5
They sought him – In due time search will be made to find the Lord's Anointed and he will be found at his second advent. R3218:5
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| 22 And they ask again at Jehovah, 'Hath the man yet come hither ' and Jehovah saith, 'Lo, he hath been hidden near the vessels.' |
Inquired of the LORD – The Christ of God will be the desired one of all nations. R3218:5
Hath hid himself – In marked contrast with some of the chief ones of the world and the nominal church. R3218:4, R5636:2
The stuff – Baggage piled up surrounding the camp. R3218:4, R5637:6
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| 23 And they run and bring him thence, and he stationed himself in the midst of the people, and he is higher than any of the people from his shoulder and upward. |
Fetched him thence – The Lord's Anointed shall be found at his second advent. R3218:5
He was higher – Representing the largeness and grandeur of character in those whom the Lord is choosing. R3218:6
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| 24 And Samuel saith unto all the people, 'Have ye seen him on whom Jehovah hath fixed, for there is none like him among all the people ' And all the people shout, and say, 'Let the king live!' |
None like him – "Chiefest among ten thousand; the one altogether lovely." (Song of Sol. 5:10, 16) R3218:6
The people shouted – So the world of mankind will shout for joy when they shall realize the presence of the Christ of God. R3218:6
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| 25 And Samuel speaketh unto the people the right of the kingdom, and writeth in a book, and placeth before Jehovah; and Samuel sendeth all the people away, each to his house. |
Write it in a book – By divine direction. R1145:3
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| 26 And also Saul hath gone to his house, to Gibeah, and the force go with him whose heart God hath touched; |
Went home – Displaying patience, wisdom, humility. R5636:1
Went with him – It is because we see Jesus to be the Father's choice that we unite ourselves to him. R3218:6
A band of men – Typifying the Little Flock. R3218:6
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| 27 and the sons of worthlessness have said, 'What! this one doth save us!' and they despise him, and have not brought to him a present; and he is as one deaf. |
Children of Belial – Children of the devil; representing those out of harmony with God, speaking evil of the members of the Body of Christ. R3219:1
They despised him – So mankind is not yet ready for the reign of the Royal Priesthood. R5636:2
He held his peace – Made no attempt to exercise authority, seeing that he had only half-hearted support from the people. R5635:2
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| 111 And Nahash the Ammonite cometh up, and encampeth against Jabesh-Gilead, and all the men of Jabesh say unto Nahash, 'Make with us a covenant, and we serve thee.' |
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| 2 And Nahash the Ammonite saith unto them, 'For this I covenant with you, by picking out to you every right eye and I have put it a reproach on all Israel.' |
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| 3 And the elders of Jabesh say to him, 'Let us alone seven days, and we send messengers into all the border of Israel: and if there is none saving us then we have come out unto thee.' |
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| 4 And the messengers come to Gibeah of Saul, and speak the words in the ears of the people, and all the people lift up their voice and weep; |
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| 5 and lo, Saul hath come after the herd out of the field, and Saul saith, 'What to the people, that they weep ' and they recount to him the words of the men of Jabesh. |
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| 6 And the Spirit of God doth prosper over Saul, in his hearing these words, and his anger burneth greatly, |
Spirit of the LORD – Controlling his words and actions rather than enlightening his mind in respect to the deep things of God. R4197:5
Another man – Similarly, those who believe God's message and accept the anointing of the holy Spirit also find new aims, new impulses, new hopes, new desires. R4197:6
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| 7 and he taketh a couple of oxen, and cutteth them in pieces, and sendeth through all the border of Israel, by the hand of the messengers, saying, 'He who is not coming out after Saul and after Samuel thus it is done to his oxen;' and the fear of Jehovah falleth on the people, and they come out as one man. |
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| 8 And he inspecteth them in Bezek, and the sons of Israel are three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. |
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| 9 And they say to the messengers who are coming, 'Thus do ye say to the men of Jabesh-Gilead: To-morrow ye have safety by the heat of the sun;' and the messengers come and declare to the men of Jabesh, and they rejoice; |
Another heart – Fixed his mind upon the more sober things of life and God's relationship to these. R4197:5
In the sense that he no longer had the "disposition" to be a farmer, but a divine "disposition" to be a statesman. It did not signify that he had become a New Creature in Christ. R5637:4
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| 10 and the men of Jabesh say [to the Ammonites], 'To-morrow we come out unto you, and ye have done to us according to all that [is] good in your eyes.' |
Spirit of God – An invisible power from God. R5637:3
The Bible makes a clean-cut distinction between the holy Spirit's operations upon men before Pentecost and since. R5637:3
God's holy Spirit qualifying Saul for king was a mechanical one and not the spirit of sonship. R5637:4
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| 11 And it cometh to pass, on the morrow, that Saul putteth the people in three detachments, and they come into the midst of the camp in the morning-watch, and smite Ammon till the heat of the day; and it cometh to pass that those left are scattered, and there have not been left of them two together. |
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| 12 And the people say unto Samuel, 'Who is he that saith, Saul doth reign over us! give ye up the men, and we put them to death.' |
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| 13 And Saul saith, 'There is no man put to death on this day, for to-day hath Jehovah wrought salvation in Israel.' |
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| 14 And Samuel saith unto the people, 'Come and we go to Gilgal, and renew the kingdom there;' |
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| 15 and all the people go to Gilgal, and cause Saul to reign there before Jehovah in Gilgal, and sacrifice there sacrifices of peace-offerings before Jehovah, and there Saul rejoiceth and all the men of Israel very greatly. |
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